DARIEN -- The weeklong cold snap ended with clear skies and steady sunshine Saturday, drawing families to Gorham's Pond for what has become an increasingly rare treat, given the recent warming trend of New England winters: outdoor ice skating.

Darien resident Jennifer Montanaro spent the afternoon gliding across the ice with her husband and 10-year-old daughter.

"We first came here when we moved here about 10 years ago," Montanaro said. "We haven't been able to skate in a couple years because it hasn't frozen over. So this is really a treat since it's supposed to be 40 degrees Monday."

Temperatures plummeted to the single digits last week in what was Fairfield County's first sustained period of below-freezing temperatures since winter 2010. Days of biting wind and icy roads gave way to a clear, bright afternoon Saturday, and skaters ventured out onto the picturesque Gorham's Pond with their hockey sticks.

"There are no boundaries," Montanaro said of the large pond, which is bordered on one side by Goodwives River Road. "Skating outside is old fashioned, a little bit of nostalgia. The nice thing about this is, unless you live here and have a canoe, you never really get to come here and see all this."

Norwalk resident Taryn McCarthy grew up near Gorham's Pond. On Saturday he brought his 10-year-old daughter, Marley, out onto the ice for a play date with one of her friends.

"We've been coming here since I was a kid," McCarthy said. "It's just great to be outside, it's good exercise."

Darien father John Novak pried his three daughters away from their electronic devices Saturday for an afternoon skating session. It was the first time on ice for Millie, the family's 1-year-old yellow Labrador, who barked enthusiastically as she slid across the pond in pursuit of Keating, 10, Mimi Sue, 8, and Annabelle, 6.

"We're outside and not inside playing on our Apples," Novak said. "We moved here about three years ago and we're down here every time it freezes over."

The ice will soon be melting at Gorham's Pond, with temperatures expected to reach 56 degrees by Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.